RECAP: Blue Jackets 0, Capitals 4

For all the talk about the high-scoring NHL and the propensity of teams letting leads slip away, the Washington Capitals, to the detriment of the Blue Jackets, restored order for one game at least with a 4-0 victory at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
Brett Connolly, Dmitrij Jaskin and Alexander Ovechkin scored in the first period, and Travis Boyd also scored for the Capitals (17-9-3), who increased their lead in the Metropolitan Division to three points over the Blue Jackets (16-11-2).
Braden Holtby made 28 saves for his second shutout off the season and kept Cam Atkinson off the board, ending his 12-game point streak a game shy of tying Ryan Johansen's franchise record.

"They showed they're the Stanley Cup champs," Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky said. "They locked it down. When you've got leads you've got to lock it down. They did that. They made it tough on us."
It had been a trying week for both teams. The Capitals led Anaheim 5-1 but lost 6-5 on Sunday. The Blue Jackets were ahead of the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Tuesday only to lose 9-6.
"We got a good lesson in what a good first-place team looks like," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "We're right there all year to get ourselves in that position but I don't see us doing the things necessary to win hockey games at crucial times. They did."

Really quick recap
Connolly gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead with his fifth goal at 1:42 of the first period.
"The way the game is now the first goal doesn't mean as much as it used to, but it does a lot for momentum and makes you play looser, a little freer," Holtby said
Jaskin made it 2-0 at 10:19 with a deflection of a Boyd shot for his first goal for Washington.
Ovechkin scored on a redirect from Michal Kempny with 19 seconds left to make it 3-0.
Boyd's first NHL goal in his 21st game increased the lead to 4-0 at 11:04 of the third period.
Not all his fault
Sergei Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 13 shots in the first period for the Blue Jackets before being pulled. Joonas Korpisalo made 14 saves in relief and made several outstanding saves.
Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella in a short postgame press conference said the move was directed more at the team.
"I was not going to have Bob eat more goals the way we were playing in front of him," Tortorella said.
Juggling act
Tortorella mixed up the lines in-game in what has become a regular occurrence.
At one point Alex Wennberg centered Artemi Panarin and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Also, Foligno took Panarin's spot alongside Pierre-Luc Dubois and Atkinson while Anthony Duclair joined center Boone Jenner and Josh Anderson for a while.
"I'm not going to dissect our problems right now, tonight" Tortorella said.
He was also asked if there's a lack of confidence in defending.
"That's one problem. That's not our only problem," he said.
Defenseman Zach Werenski was dropped to the third D pairing with Scott Harrington as Ryan Murray joined Seth Jones on the No. 1 defense. Markus Nutivaara and David Savard comprised the second unit.
Werenski played 20:58, second among the defensemen to Seth Jones' 26:07.

Not a homer
The Blue Jackets have lost two straight at Nationwide Arena, having been outscored 13-6. They are 7-6-1 at home with five consecutive home games ahead.
"It's disappointing," Foligno said. "We have to find a way to fix our home record here. It's not acceptable when you're trying to become a great team."
Next
Host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (7 p.m.; Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports app, 97.1 The Fan).